Footnotes
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Jenson, Autobiography, 131, 133, 135, 141, 192, 389; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 44–52.
Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.
Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.
Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Footnotes
In 1841 John M. Bernhisel gave JS a copy of John Lloyd Stephens’s book Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. In a letter thanking Bernhisel for the gift, JS stated that Stephens’s work was “the most correct luminous & comprihensive” of any book written on American antiquities. That same year, a missionary named Charles Thompson published a volume that used Stephens’s research as evidence that the Book of Mormon was a “divinely inspired record, written by the Forefathers of the Natives whom we call Indians.” In 1842, under JS’s editorship, the Times and Seasons published articles citing Stephens’s works to support the idea that individuals and populations described in the Book of Mormon had inhabited the Americas; an additional article was published in the Times and Seasons in 1843. (Letter from John M. Bernhisel, 8 Sept. 1841; Letter to John M. Bernhisel, 16 Nov. 1841; Thompson, Evidences in Proof of the Book of Mormon, 2, 241–256; “Extract From Stephens’ ‘Incidents of Travel in Central America,’” Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1842, 3:911–914; “Extract From Stephens’ ‘Incidents of Travel in Central America,’” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:927–928; “Stephens’ Works on Central America,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1843, 4:346–347.)
Thompson, Charles. Evidences in Proof of the Book of Mormon, Being a Divinely Inspired Record, Written by the Forefathers of the Natives Whom We Call Indians, (Who Are a Remnant of the Tribe of Joseph,) and Hid Up in the Earth, but Come Forth in Fulfilment of Prophesy for the Gathering of Israel and the Re-establishing of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth. Batavia, NY: D. D. Waite, 1841.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
In 1842 Page attempted to align cities named in the Book of Mormon with the geography described by John Lloyd Stephens in Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. In 1843 Page published a pamphlet refuting the theory that Sidney Ridgon had plagiarized a manuscript written by Solomon Spalding to produce the Book of Mormon. During 1843 and 1844, Page published The Gospel Light, a series of three tracts “devoted to the promulgation and defence of the doctrine of the scriptures as advocated by ‘The church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.’” (John E. Page, “To a Disciple,” Morning Chronicle [Pittsburgh], 1 July 1842, [2]; Page, Spaulding Story, 15–16; “The Gospel Light,” Gospel Light, June 1843, 1.)
Morning Chronicle. Pittsburgh. 1841–1844.
Page, John E. The Spaulding Story, concerning the Origin of the Book of Mormon, Duly Examined, and Exposed to the Righteous Contempt of a Candid Public. Pittsburgh: By the author, 1843.
Gospel Light. Pittsburgh. 1843–1844.
JS, Journal, 27 Apr. 1844. JS’s journal entry for this day and its sequence of reported events suggest that Richards was with JS in JS’s store, that Foster visited there, and that he arrived around midday.
Hyde passed through Pittsburgh on his way to Washington DC to deliver a memorial to Congress on behalf of the Council of Fifty. (See Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844.)
Page taught Savary on his mission in Pittsburgh. Before he joined the church, Savary wrote a letter to JS expressing his appreciation for Page’s ability to expound scripture and petitioning church leaders to allow Page to return to Pittsburgh after reporting to Nauvoo. (Letter from Richard Savary, 2 Feb. 1842; Petition from Richard Savary and Others, ca. 2 Feb. 1842.)
Page married Mary Judd in 1839.
The Times and Seasons reported in its 1 March 1844 issue that Page had left for Washington DC. (“Varieties,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1844, 5:458.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
This letter is apparently not extant.
At the time, the youngest child of John and Mary Judd Page was a daughter named Celestia, who was about one and a half years old. (1850 U.S. Census, Spring Prairie, Walworth Co., WI, 195; “Died,” Zion’s Ensign, 31 July 1902, 8.)
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
Zion’s Ensign. Independence, MO. 1891–.
Page was referring to the Doctrine and Covenants.
During this time, there was widespread interest in Mesoamerican culture. Travelers, artists, and scholars had been creating works related to Mesoamerica since the late eighteenth century. Building on earlier writings and research available in Italian, Spanish, and German, publications on ancient American civilizations began to appear in English in the early nineteenth century. For example, Alexander von Humboldt’s Researches, concerning the Institutions and Monuments of the Ancient Inhabitants of America (London: Longman et al., 1814) appeared in English in 1814. Edward Kingsborough’s Antiquities of Mexico, an ongoing project that continued from 1831 to 1848, published travelogues, historical accounts, and many facsimile images. William Bullock’s 1824 travelogue, Six Months Residence and Travels in Mexico (London: John Murray, 1824), also fostered interest in ancient America.
See John L. Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, 2 vols. (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1841); John L. Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, 2 vols. (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1843); Josiah Priest, American Antiquities and Discoveries in the West . . . (Albany: Hoffman and White, 1835); and John Delafield Jr., An Inquiry into the Origin of the Antiquities of America (Cincinnati: N. G. Burgess, 1839).
Stephens, John L. Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. 2 vols. 11th ed. New York City: Harper and Brothers, 1841.
Stephens, John L. Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. 2 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1843.
Priest, Josiah. American Antiquities and Discoveries in the West. . . . 5th ed. Albany: Hoffman and White, 1838.
Delafield, John, Jr. An Inquiry into the Origin of the Antiquities of America. Cincinnati: N. G. Burgess, 1839.